THE Filipino boxing hero Manny Pacquiao was flown from his hometown of General Santos City and taken to the Cardinal Santos Medical Hospital in San Juan past noon Friday after he started vomiting due to extreme stomach pains.
Initial reports said Pacquiao went to the hospital between 1:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. when he started complaining of a stomachache after having lunch.
In a telephone interview, Cebuano promoter Rex “Wakee” Salud, Pacquiao’s business adviser, said that Pacquiao has a history of ulcers and may have forgotten to take his medicine.
But Dr. Regina Bagsic, a gastroenterologist, said Pacquiao may be suffering from gastroenteritis from the food he took for lunch. He needs all the rest he can get, she said.
Pacquiao is recovering at Room 723 of the hospital and expects to be discharged soon, Bagsic said.
Salud said the hectic schedule of Pacquiao might be taking its toll on his health.
“I understand that Manny is out of the house as early as 7 [a.m.] to fulfill his numerous commitments, mostly with the TV network ABS-CBN,” Salud said.
“PacMan” is fresh from beating Oscar Larios on July 2 at the Araneta Coliseum. He knocked down the Mexican twice on the way to a unanimous decision win.
Pacquiao was copromoter of the bout with ABS-CBN.
He is set to face another Mexican, Erik Morales, for the third time on November 18 at the Thomas and Mack and Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The two boxers, who both pack a knockout punch, split their first two matches so the third—and perhaps last—encounter will determine who is the better fighter.
It was uncertain if Pacquiao would still push on with his scheduled flight to the United States on Saturday.
He has been tapped as one of the ring announcers by local cable TV network Solar Sports for the fight of countryman Randy Suico, who takes on defending champion Juan Diaz of Mexico for the World Boxing Association lightweight title in Las Vegas, Nevada, Sunday morning in Manila.
